By Isabella Kaminski

The UK Government has revised its solar photovoltaic (PV) feed-in tariff to take into account increases in the consumer price index. Feed-in tariff changes will come into effect on 1 April this year.

Perry Jackson, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Electric’s solar PV department, says: "We have already seen a dramatic increase in the number of enquiries since the tariff was introduced last year and this higher rate will help continue to fuel demand.”

According to Mitsubishi Electric, the UK solar PV market is already expanding rapidly as homeowners and businesses take advantage of the feed-in tariff programme. The new feed-in tariff figures will see an average increase of between £0.015-0.02/kWh of electricity, depending on the type and size of solar PV installation.

Jackson believes the level of interest at shows such as the recent Ecobuild are reflective of market desire. He says: "We're already looking at significant growth in sales over the coming year. This increase to account for inflation looks certain to help turn customer interest into real projects."

However, Jackson urges a note of caution as people rush to install solar PV systems, asking potential buyers to check every aspect of performance, reliability and longevity before they sign any contracts.

"The number of new PV companies at Ecobuild was incredible and when you consider that a PV system needs to carry on working reliably for 25 years or more, I think people need to be certain what the actual brand is they are buying before they rush to install.”